LAKE ELSINORE ---- After the Temecula Valley High baseball team won seven consecutive games to set up a battle for the Southwestern League title, coach Tony Nobiensky knew the Golden Bears' lucky number had to be eight.

LAKE ELSINORE ---- After the Temecula Valley High baseball team won seven consecutive games to set up a battle for the Southwestern League title, coach Tony Nobiensky knew the Golden Bears' lucky number had to be eight.

The Golden Bears made their own luck in the regular-season finale Friday, using a seven-run third inning to defeat Vista Murrieta 11-6 at The Diamond to share the league title with the Broncos.

"I was hoping our lucky number was eight, and we really expected a dog fight coming in here, so I am shocked how we jumped on them early," Nobiensky said. "Both teams knew what was on the line, and I was impressed how our bats came alive."

The victory gave Temecula Valley (18-6, 11-4) the tiebreaker advantage over Vista Murrieta (17-9, 11-4) for playoff seeding purposes. As a result, the Golden Bears will receive the Southwestern League's No. 1 seed in the upcoming CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs, while the Broncos will take the league's second seed.

"Division I is tough, so to go in as a No. 1 seed gives us a little rest before the playoffs begin," Nobiensky said. "This team really turned it around (with our winning streak), and they kept battling to get here."

Temecula Valley scored a run in each of the first two innings before taking a commanding 9-1 lead in the third.

The Golden Bears sent 12 batters to the plate in the third inning, as Jordan Cavazos and Josh Luehmann each doubled in two runs. Josh Garcia, Phillip Fuentes and Brooks Fages each singled in a run in the inning.

"We got some key hits, and we were hitting the ball hard in the third inning," Fages said. "We have seen their pitchers before, so we knew what to expect from them and were just pounding the ball hard."

Vista Murrieta struggled from the plate, leaving seven runners on base, but the battled until the end. The Broncos pushed across two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to make the score respectable before Dennis Morton came in to finish the game with two strikeouts and a groundout.

Cavazos started for Temecula Valley, allowing four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn the victory. Nobiensky said Cavazos suffered a hamstring pull in the fourth inning but insisted on remaining in the game.

"My teammates have backed me up all season, and once we got the big inning it let me calm down and just pitch my game," Cavazos said.

Every Temecula Valley starter had a hit, with Jake Huskey, Dakota Thompson, Garcia, Fages and Morton collecting two apiece.